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Pole to Pole with Will Smith - Season 1 - Episode 02: The Amazon: Deadly Creatures
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TVTranscript
00:09To be continued...
00:40This is Den's jungle.
00:46That's what machetes are for.
00:53Come on.
00:54Did you ever have one of those friends
00:56that, like, gets you in trouble
00:59all the time?
01:06I remember my very first snake bite.
01:09You never forget your first.
01:10Yeah, that's Brian.
01:15Over the last 25 years,
01:18I've had 27 snake bites,
01:1924 broken bones,
01:21400 stitches,
01:22three concussions,
01:23two stingray stings,
01:24and one near-fatal scorpion
01:26sting in the Amazon.
01:33I don't like bugs.
01:37I don't like snakes.
01:40I don't like spiders.
01:43And Brian has us
01:45in the middle of the Amazon
01:49looking for deadly creatures.
02:12On my pole-to-pole journey,
02:15I'm exploring the extremes of our planet
02:18because I'm discovering
02:20that it's at the edges
02:22where you find the answers
02:23to life's most important questions.
02:27My next leg
02:29has dropped me
02:30right into the heart
02:31of the Amazon
02:32to join a groundbreaking
02:34scientific expedition
02:36to the world's largest
02:37rainforest.
02:48This is our tree.
02:52Wow.
02:54This thing is gigantic.
02:58200 feet.
03:01Seems like a lot of gear
03:03to climb a tree.
03:04Yeah.
03:05The expeditions led
03:06by mountaineer Carla Perez.
03:08Okay, Brian.
03:09You are ready to go.
03:11All right.
03:11Awesome.
03:12All right.
03:12And my man,
03:13Professor Brian Fry.
03:15Show me the way, coach.
03:16Okay.
03:18Now, Brian thinks
03:19there are creatures here
03:20that could hold the secret
03:22to saving millions of lives.
03:25You are doing great, Brian.
03:28The goal of the expedition
03:29is to find new species,
03:32not just for the sake
03:34of finding new species.
03:35You know, we're not
03:36collecting stamps here.
03:37But hunting for new species
03:39that might lead
03:40to important
03:40scientific breakthroughs.
03:48But first,
03:49we want to show Will
03:50what an incredible place
03:51the Amazon is
03:52and the sheer scale
03:55of the life
03:56that it contains.
03:58You see how well I'm doing?
03:59Keep going, keep going.
04:01You didn't even imagine
04:02I was going to be
04:03this good at it.
04:06Here we are.
04:08We made it.
04:12Wow.
04:13Wow.
04:15Just amazing, eh?
04:17Sitting on top
04:17of the world.
04:21Look at that.
04:23Just endless.
04:29There is not a hospital
04:30as far as I can see.
04:35Oh, this is fantastic, man.
04:38This is fantastic.
04:40I brought you up here
04:41to show you why
04:42the Amazon is the best place
04:44on Earth
04:45to look for new species.
04:49If you look around,
04:50not everything
04:51is what you'd expect.
04:54Most of what you're seeing
04:55that's green,
04:55that's not actually
04:56part of the tree.
04:57That's the small plants
04:58living on the tree.
05:00They're called
05:01epiphytes.
05:03A tree this size
05:04could have
05:05over 200
05:06different species.
05:08Just look at
05:09what you're sitting on.
05:11That's not the tree.
05:13That's soil.
05:15That's wild.
05:16It's like
05:17another forest floor
05:19on top of the tree.
05:21Exactly.
05:23And the same
05:24is true of animals.
05:26The Amazon
05:26is hiding
05:27a wealth of species
05:28that you might not
05:30be able to see,
05:31but you can hear.
05:34Let me show you
05:35something really cool.
05:37I recorded the sounds
05:38of all the animals
05:39in earshot of this tree
05:41for 24 hours.
05:44There's a brown
05:45woolly monkey,
05:46howler monkey,
05:47and that's what
05:48we're hearing.
05:48A howler monkey
05:49is what we're hearing
05:49now.
05:50Yeah, that really
05:50spooky sound.
05:51That's the Pavarotti
05:53of the jungle.
05:57Yeah, that's him.
05:59Yeah.
06:01You have a
06:01pygmy marmoset
06:03in here.
06:04Yeah, they're cool.
06:04A little arboreal
06:05planate.
06:16Oh, man,
06:17the common putu
06:17got rhythm.
06:20It is on
06:21and popping
06:22in the Amazon.
06:24It's like
06:26a nature club.
06:28It's like...
06:35all day
06:36and all night long.
06:41Now, I get it.
06:44This is the most alive
06:47place on Earth.
06:50It feels like
06:51there's more life
06:52in this one tree
06:54than the whole
06:56of Antarctica.
07:02Exploring the
07:02incredible diversity
07:03of life
07:04in the canopy
07:06is already proving
07:07incredibly revolutionary
07:09for biosciences.
07:12But to find
07:13the species
07:13I'm interested in
07:14for this expedition,
07:16we're going somewhere
07:18much less charted,
07:19down
07:20into the pitch black.
07:30to follow my steps.
07:35Those first couple
07:36steps in the jungle,
07:39it really is
07:40overwhelming.
07:41The smells,
07:43the sounds,
07:44and the density.
07:47Watch out this
07:48section, guys.
07:49With a lot of
07:50insects.
07:50It really
07:51surrounded
07:52by Mother Nature.
07:54And it sounds
07:55so silly,
07:57but that was
07:58actually
07:58a revelation
08:00for me.
08:02There is a
08:03real,
08:04like,
08:05blossoming
08:07explorer
08:07within me.
08:09I got this.
08:12We are arriving.
08:14The main goal
08:15of our expedition
08:16is just there.
08:17But today,
08:18we are not going up.
08:19We are going down.
08:21going down.
08:22Yeah.
08:31When you think
08:32of the Amazon,
08:32you don't necessarily
08:35think of caves.
08:37But if you're ever
08:38going to find
08:38something new,
08:41caves are a
08:42great place
08:42to start.
08:44And the
08:45Taos Cave
08:45is a hidden world
08:47where we will
08:48find new life.
08:52Are you okay?
08:55Oh, goodness.
08:57This is the cave.
08:59Whoa.
09:00Can you see?
09:01Whoa.
09:02I don't like that at all.
09:09We are going down
09:11about 20-story building.
09:15206 feet.
09:17So, yeah.
09:18All right.
09:19So now,
09:19the moment is arrived.
09:23Okay.
09:24See you on the bottom.
09:31The cave has a Spanish
09:33name,
09:34La Cueva de los Tayos.
09:36And local people
09:37call it
09:38the warmth
09:39of the earth.
09:41For sure,
09:42this is the most
09:43dangerous moment
09:44in the whole expedition.
09:47Yeah,
09:48I'm a little concerned.
09:49I'm certainly
09:50a little concerned.
09:51When you flip
09:52on your lights,
09:53you're going to see
09:54things that you
09:55never even imagined,
09:57except maybe
09:57in some really
09:57feverish dreams.
09:59Okay.
10:00Oh, there's some
10:01really cool things
10:02in there.
10:03I'm not going to
10:04ruin the surprise,
10:04but there's some
10:06wicked-looking animals.
10:09My specific
10:11field of study
10:11is venomology.
10:13It's my job
10:14to discover
10:16new species
10:17of venomous animals.
10:19Venoms
10:20formed the
10:21backbone
10:22of some
10:23of our
10:24most effective
10:24drugs.
10:25They've been
10:26truly
10:27revolutionary
10:28in biomedical
10:29science.
10:32Imagine if
10:33down there
10:34there's a
10:35cure for cancer.
10:39Wow.
10:41So we're
10:42looking
10:42for venomous
10:44species.
10:45Yeah.
10:46Some of the
10:46scorpions,
10:47we haven't tested
10:48their toxicity
10:48yet, which
10:49means that
10:50the odds of
10:51the antivenom
10:51working really
10:52aren't that
10:52great.
10:55Yeah, this
10:56whole thing
10:56is stupid.
10:57Yeah, this is
10:58a bad idea,
10:59the whole idea.
11:06And it's all
11:07on me.
11:08Yes.
11:17Oh, goodness.
11:21Okay, we got
11:22sounds and clicks
11:24and pops and
11:24stuff.
11:25All right.
11:26Oh, geez.
11:28All right, hold
11:29on.
11:29I got to give
11:29me a second
11:30to get my movie
11:31star face back.
11:32All right.
11:34How's that?
11:35Still, I'm still
11:36breathing too
11:36hard, though,
11:37right?
11:39All right.
11:40Oh, that's,
11:41I shouldn't have
11:42done that.
11:46Part of this
11:47whole thing for
11:48me is like
11:50playing my
11:51edges.
11:52I just want
11:52to keep
11:53inching out a
11:54little bit
11:54farther to
11:55see something
11:56or feel
11:57something that
11:58is outside
11:59of my comfort
12:00zone.
12:00The torch
12:01go off.
12:02This is
12:03my worst
12:03nightmare,
12:04but I'm not
12:05going to let
12:06my fear
12:07stop me.
12:19Great.
12:20Good job.
12:23Wow.
12:26Yo.
12:28This is
12:29great.
12:31It's like
12:32another world.
12:33You can
12:34just tell
12:35things just
12:36look like
12:37no humans
12:38have seen
12:38it before.
12:39Yeah, it's
12:39crazy.
12:40The biodiversity
12:40in here has
12:41barely been
12:42scratched.
12:42There's only
12:43been a handful
12:43of studies,
12:44and the
12:46cataloging of
12:46life in here
12:47is far,
12:47far from
12:48complete.
12:50The creatures
12:51here are as
12:52isolated as if
12:53they were on
12:53an island in
12:54the middle of
12:54the ocean.
12:55So they have
12:56the potential
12:56to evolve into
12:57genetically
12:57distinct new
12:59species.
13:01evolving in
13:02such a dark
13:03and hostile
13:03environment like
13:04this breeds
13:05intense competition,
13:07which also promotes
13:08innovation and
13:09ways to kill.
13:10So you get
13:12new types of
13:13venom with a
13:14power that is
13:14just mind-blowing.
13:16Okay.
13:16What if we just
13:17left?
13:20All right.
13:20Okay.
13:28How far does it
13:29go?
13:30We don't know.
13:31Most of the cave
13:33has never been
13:33explored.
13:54My team has
13:55identified this
13:56chamber as a
13:56prime zone for
13:57all the things
13:58we're after.
13:59So there should be
14:00lots of scorpions
14:01and spiders here.
14:02So we're basically
14:03going to try to
14:04like clear this
14:05room.
14:06Yeah.
14:07Guys, now I
14:08will let you go
14:09and collect
14:11some specimens.
14:12Okay.
14:12You leave me
14:13with him?
14:14Yeah.
14:15I trust, but if
14:16you need me,
14:16you just scream,
14:17Carla!
14:18Carla!
14:20Carla!
14:26Hey, there's
14:27a...
14:27What is that?
14:28A little cave
14:28cricket.
14:29A cave cricket.
14:30Ah, that jumped.
14:32Okay.
14:34Ooh.
14:34Hey.
14:35Nice big
14:35cockroach.
14:36Here's a big
14:37food for somebody.
14:39Wow.
14:40You want to
14:40hold it?
14:41Damn it.
14:42Yeah.
14:42All right.
14:42There we go.
14:43Because I can't act
14:44scared since you...
14:45Ah!
14:46It's like men in
14:47black.
14:49Oh, hey.
14:49Ooh.
14:50Oh, that's a nice
14:51one.
14:52Oh, wow.
14:53Can I have a
14:54jump, please?
14:54Which one?
14:55Okay.
14:55So this is a big
14:56spider.
14:57Yes, I can see
14:58that part here.
14:59I have a bigger
14:59jug if you want.
15:00Yeah, I need a
15:01bigger jug.
15:02You're going to
15:03need a bigger jug.
15:04Here we go.
15:05All right.
15:09Ooh.
15:10Ooh.
15:11Ooh.
15:12Ah!
15:12All right.
15:13And the lid, please.
15:14Okay, sorry.
15:15Here you go.
15:15Sorry.
15:17I'm not good at this.
15:18Is that to make
15:18sure it's the right lid?
15:19Yes, that's a big
15:20girl.
15:21This is definitely
15:22the biggest spider
15:23I've ever seen.
15:23The big brown
15:24one, the goliath
15:25bird eater, isn't
15:27found near this
15:28region, so there's
15:29a good chance this
15:29will be a new
15:30species of, you
15:30know, big brown
15:32tarantula.
15:34That's insane.
15:36For me, going on
15:38these expeditions is
15:39like a once-in-a-lifetime
15:41level of craziness.
15:43But for scientists
15:44like Brian, this is
15:46just another day in
15:47the office.
15:47All right.
15:48I'm going to show
15:49you something really
15:49cool.
15:50It might sound stupid,
15:51but we're going to
15:51turn our lights off.
15:52But we're going to
15:53use another type of
15:54light.
15:54Okay.
15:55So we're going to
15:55use UV lights.
15:56It's how we find a
15:57certain animal that's
15:58really hard to see
15:59otherwise.
16:01Oh, wow.
16:01Look at your shirt.
16:02Ooh.
16:03They use that at the
16:04club when they put the
16:05mark on you.
16:06So we're looking for
16:07something that does
16:07that.
16:08You know, a little
16:09glowy, buddy.
16:10Oh, hey.
16:10We're right there.
16:11What is that?
16:12Wow.
16:12You know what
16:13animal that is?
16:14Looks like a
16:14scorpion.
16:15Yeah.
16:15And they glow.
16:16We don't know why.
16:17Have you ever been
16:19stung by a scorpion?
16:20Oh, yeah.
16:20They suck.
16:21It felt like my finger
16:22was in a flame for
16:23about eight hours.
16:24Ooh.
16:25So are these things
16:26fast?
16:27No.
16:27I guess we'll see
16:28in a second.
16:29Ooh.
16:29Hey.
16:30Awesome.
16:32Wow.
16:34Here we go.
16:35So do you want to
16:36just do it on your
16:37own?
16:37Actually flip your own
16:38rocks and look for
16:39your own animals.
16:40Okay.
16:41Yes.
16:41I think, yes, sir.
16:42I would like to do
16:43that.
16:44Awesome.
16:44Um, it's pretty dark
16:49in here.
16:52So, yeah, the team
16:55is hoping that, like,
16:56I would find my own
16:58species, but I'm pretty
17:01sure that's not going to
17:04happen, because I'm not
17:08really going to look.
17:11Yeah, there's nothing
17:12here.
17:14Oh, there's a spider.
17:16You don't see that?
17:19Ooh, there's a family of
17:20them.
17:20Damn.
17:21That's like 10.
17:23Like somewhere around
17:2410 spiders is where I
17:26leave.
17:28And they don't, they're
17:29not new species.
17:30I can, they, um, those
17:32are normal species that
17:33they just, they're
17:34regular spiders, so
17:35there's nothing special.
17:36So there's no reason
17:37for us to proceed with
17:40the expedition in that
17:41direction.
17:43Yo, yo, yo.
17:45I don't want no parts
17:47of that.
17:48To me, this looks like a
17:51regular species.
17:53So I'm going to just
17:53leave that alone.
17:56Ooh.
17:59Yeah, I can see that
18:00right.
18:02Um.
18:03We caught one of these
18:05already, so I think
18:06this is cool.
18:06I'm going to just
18:07leave that alone.
18:08Ooh, that's a bat.
18:10That's a bat.
18:11That is a bat.
18:13Ooh, no, that's not
18:14one bat.
18:15That's 10 bats.
18:16They're flying.
18:17They're flying.
18:19All right.
18:20All gone.
18:21Ugh!
18:26Oh!
18:28Carla!
18:40So, we've caught a number
18:42of animals so far, and
18:44who knows what's in their
18:45venom?
18:46Yeah, that thing is
18:47insane-looking.
18:48So there might be
18:50potential cures that come
18:53out of the tarantula?
18:55Absolutely.
18:56The tarantulas are the
18:57scorpions.
18:59So of all these
19:00critters, how do you
19:02know which one's the
19:03most useful?
19:05Well, whichever is the
19:07most potently venomous.
19:17Venoms are effective
19:18killers because they
19:19target vital parts of the
19:21body.
19:22But what's cool is in low
19:24quantities, these effects
19:26can be haunted for good.
19:29The venom of a Brazilian
19:30pit viper kills with a
19:31sudden drop of blood
19:32pressure.
19:34But it's been developed
19:36into a medicine that more
19:37than 40 million people use
19:38to keep their blood
19:40pressure under control.
19:43Scorpion venoms paralyze
19:45the nervous system, but
19:47they've inspired a medicine
19:48that can help treat
19:49stroke victims.
19:51A component in spider venom
19:52can alleviate pain rather
19:55than cause it.
19:58Imagine the medical
19:59breakthroughs that can be
20:00made from new venomous
20:01species found in the
20:03Amazon.
20:06So, we're going to
20:07milk, the biggest of the
20:09tarantulas.
20:10Is that like the
20:11scientific term, milking?
20:12Well, we try to use
20:14venom extraction, but
20:15milking is kind of cool.
20:20How long does the spider
20:21stay knocked out?
20:22I try to do as minimal as
20:24possible.
20:24So, it's usually out for
20:25about five minutes, ten
20:27minutes at most.
20:27So, you should hurry up,
20:28then.
20:29Yeah.
20:32It takes three of us just
20:33to wrangle the animal.
20:35Uh-oh.
20:36Oh, jeez.
20:37He's seeming frisky.
20:40Yeah, he looked like he's
20:41been milked before.
20:43And he didn't like it.
20:46We really don't want to get
20:48nailed by it because, wow,
20:49do they suck.
20:50Okay, okay.
20:51All right, all right.
20:52Dave will wrangle the body.
20:54I'll apply the tans.
20:55You'll run the tans.
20:55This is called the tans
20:57machine?
20:58Yeah, it's the same machine
20:59that an athlete would use
21:00on a muscle injury.
21:01But we're going to use it
21:03to gently stimulate the
21:04venom glands.
21:05Okay, got it, got it.
21:08All right, so, um, first
21:09Amalia is going to pop open
21:11one of the fangs.
21:14Whoa.
21:15Yeah, that's a big fang.
21:16Yeah.
21:18Okay, I've got the pad on.
21:20Okay.
21:20I've got the tans on.
21:21Just tell me when to milk.
21:25Okay.
21:25Let's keep running it up.
21:26Keep running it up.
21:28Faster.
21:37I'm getting any venom.
21:38Oh, nice big drop.
21:39Look at that.
21:43There we go.
21:44Oh, that was a good amount.
21:47No, no, yeah, just let it
21:48hold.
21:48Yeah, hold it at that point.
21:49Hold it right there.
21:50You're increasing it
21:51one milliamp at a time.
21:52So we only use as much
21:54electricity as it takes to
21:56actually stimulate the
21:57venom gland, the same
21:57amount of neuroelectricity
21:59it would send.
22:00Because we like these
22:01animals, you know, we're
22:02driven by childlike love
22:03for these creatures.
22:04We don't want to hurt them.
22:06Oh, we worried about not
22:07hurting them.
22:09We need to act quickly.
22:11The spider's waking up
22:12rapidly.
22:13Uh-oh.
22:13Oh, geez.
22:15Faster.
22:17All right, I'm going up,
22:18going up, going up.
22:24Oh, look at the size of
22:25that drop.
22:26Yeah, well, this is wild.
22:27This is wild.
22:30That is an amazing amount
22:32of venom.
22:35All right.
22:36We're good?
22:36I can stop?
22:40Your first venom extraction.
22:45That's stressful.
22:48And that was just the start.
22:51The team collected
22:53dozens more creatures
22:55and anything they didn't
22:57recognize, they just milked
23:00it.
23:01Well done.
23:02All right.
23:02Good stuff.
23:03Good stuff.
23:05Gracias.
23:05Gracias.
23:06I mean, it's a weird way
23:07to make a living, but
23:08Brian seemed really happy.
23:11The expedition has been
23:15extraordinarily successful.
23:17We're only scratching the
23:18surface of the bonanza
23:19that we collected.
23:24I can only imagine
23:26what kind of breakthroughs
23:28are contained in all
23:29of these new venoms.
23:32It was a very, very special
23:33day.
23:34It's one of those things
23:36you don't forget too often.
23:39What'd you do today, Daddy?
23:42Oh, I milked a tarantula,
23:44sweetie.
23:59It looks like they're leaving.
24:03So how are you feeling
24:04about the cave now?
24:06You know, it was, um,
24:08it was interesting.
24:10We milked the spider.
24:12Thank you for that.
24:12It's my first time.
24:14I've never milked a tarantula
24:16before.
24:16Not a big thing in Philly.
24:17Yeah, yeah.
24:18We don't do that.
24:19We don't do that a lot.
24:20We don't do that a lot.
24:21But when did you, um, land on
24:26the idea of, uh, poison
24:30becoming medicine as your thing?
24:34A few different parts.
24:36You know, one is I was just a
24:37weird kid, you know, who really
24:39liked venomous snakes.
24:40And other parts, you know,
24:41weapons-grade-sized dose of
24:43survivor's guilt, where when I was
24:46a kid, I was absolutely nuked
24:48by spinal meningitis.
24:53It causes an inflammation of
24:55your spinal cord and your brain
24:57because it can be very rapidly
24:59lethal.
25:00You don't come out unscathed.
25:05Came out of the hospital, my
25:06muscles so wasted, I had to
25:08relearn how to walk all over
25:09again.
25:13It also left me a complete
25:15deafness in my right ear.
25:17But I got away as lightly
25:19touched as you can.
25:24So you said survivor's guilt.
25:28Like, what do you mean?
25:30Well, it's, you know, it's a
25:32pretty common thing, and it's
25:33not logical.
25:35But I'm driven in part by being
25:40one of the ones who survived.
25:44Anything I can do to help alleviate
25:46that kind of suffering, you know,
25:47is worth doing.
25:48I get it.
25:50Something that can hurt you,
25:53being able to heal you and help
25:55you, I like that.
25:57I appreciate it.
25:58Brian has been bitten and
26:02stung and poisoned multiple times.
26:07If I get bit at work, you know,
26:11we're done for the day for sure.
26:13And, uh, and we're probably done
26:15for tomorrow.
26:17But in life, there's something to
26:20be said about not being scared of
26:23getting bit.
26:25Of the myriad of animals that we
26:27got, we have at least 10 new
26:30species just from this one
26:31expedition.
26:33That's beautiful.
26:34Oh, yeah.
26:35That's beautiful.
26:38Who knows what we might find in
26:40those new species?
26:42What medicines, what cures?
26:47And to think we're just one team,
26:50and this is a forest of almost
26:52400 billion trees with enough
27:00potential for thousands of
27:02expeditions to explore for
27:04centuries to come.
27:10All right, team.
27:12We're ready to go.
27:14I literally have no idea where
27:16we're going.
27:17Well, we've been in the caves
27:19catching all kinds of little
27:20creepy crawlies, but, you know,
27:22that snakes are my first true
27:24love.
27:24You said snakes are your first
27:27true love.
27:28Yeah, so that's what we're going
27:29after now are some very, very
27:31large snakes.
27:33Snakes.
27:34Oh, God.
27:39We're going to go after the
27:41world's heaviest snake, the
27:43Ecuadorian anaconda.
27:44Yeah, this is the beginning of a
27:46really bad movie.
27:59Ai-ya.
28:08When they pull this camera out of
28:10an anaconda a hundred years from
28:12now, I just want you to know
28:14Um, it's his fault.
28:54It's his fault.
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